Hospital of the Shadow Realm
by TheRealBakura
Summary: Bakura and Ryou moved to Wytheville for reasons unknown. But their caretaker goes missing. The "brothers", along with his friend, set out to find him. But there's more to his disappearance than kidnapping or murder. And Bakura's about to figure that out for himself... (RogueShipping)
1. 1

"Is the sky normally this grey?", Ryou asked.

"No." Akefia answered. "It's normally a lighter shade of it. Looks like we're in for a storm tonight."

Ryou gulped. Bakura just kept walking, groaning every time his foot landed in a wet puddle. "Are the storms you get around here bad?", Ryou continued to ask.

"Not really," Akefia said. "Actually, most of the time, they're just collections of rainfall."

Ryou sighed with relief. He and Akefia both smiled as they approached the desolate, dark, and abandoned house, but Bakura only frowned with uneasiness, and got a nervous feeling in his stomach.

"Is this...", he paused.

Akefia nodded. "My house. This is where the two of you will be staying this month. Don't worry, I have enough guest areas for each of you to have your own room."

Akefia opened the door, and walked in. Ryou, smiling, followed. Bakura remained standing on the doorstep, not moving a muscle.

"Bakura! Bakura, come on!", Ryou yelled, using his hand to gesture for his "brother" to come inside Akefia's house.

The darkness of the front yard and the hallway Akefia and Ryou were standing in were surrounding him. He was trapped in the shadows. He normally wouldn't have minded it, but he was scared now. Somebody from his old home -and they all knew who- wouldn't have passed up the chance to laugh at him, and probably would've done it now, but he wasn't there to stop Bakura.

He took in a deep breath, and fell backwards.

* * *

Bakura jolted into a sitting-up position. He gasped upon seeing Ryou on his right side and Akefia on his left. He was laying in a rackety bed, made out of wood that wasn't treated. The bed seemed man-made, with the exception of the mattress and sheets, which were clearly store-bought. The quilt on top of him, however, seemed to be either crocheted or knitted, made out of fine white and pastel pink yarn.

"Where am I?", Bakura asked.

Akefia simply put a hand to Bakura's forehead, and slowly pushed his head back onto the pillow it was originally laying on top of. Bakura went to feel the stuffing of the pillow. Not feathers, or cotton, but probably old clothing scraps sewed into a cloth sack. Bakura could tell because he felt something round and smooth, with stitches in the center.

"You passed out," Ryou said quietly.

"Yeah. You were running a fever, so we brought you in and carried you upstairs. We were worried, Bakura. According to Ryou, you're never sick.", Akefia informed him.

"Well, I was carsick," Bakura lied. "You know, some people throw up, some people get a migraine, and some people pass out."

"But, Bakura, we were walking for almost an hour after we got out of the car! You can't have gotten carsick the second we got here!", Ryou exclaimed.

Bakura sat up, and walked out of the room. Ryou and Akefia scowled, but they ignored him and walked over to the other side of the room. Bakura went down the hallway, which was dark, with the exceptions of the light coming from under the planks that created the floor; the ceiling to downstairs. Bakura tried to distract himself from the floor by observing the photographs on the walls surrounding him.

Akefia was in some of them, but there were some that were different. There was one that showed Ryou sitting on Bakura's lap, with the former smiling, and the latter looking extremely serious, maybe dismayed. The background was dark, as was Bakura's clothing, but Ryou's clothing was bright white in contrast. It showed the difference between the two "brothers" tremendously, and it made Bakura scowl just looking at it.

There was another one a little further down the hallway. This image was a painting instead of a photograph, and it depicted a young girl hiding behind a wall that leaded into a dark hallway, much like the one Bakura was standing in, and the hallway was crowded with all sorts of paranormal creatures; werewolves, vampires, zombies, ghouls, demons, ghosts, and living mummies. Bakura took a closer look at the girl behind the wall. There was a white, furry tail next to her, but it seemed attached to her behind. There were white, fuzzy, cat-like ears protruding from her head. The girl was a neko.

Bakura shuddered, looking at the painting. He wasn't exactly sure why it made him nervous, and it shouldn't have. He, along with Ryou, had a favoring for the occult such as this. Ryou was as excited as Bakura should've been. It was as if, on the car ride there, all of Bakura's excitement had been washed away by the rain pouring down on them as they made their excursion (that's what Akefia called it, but it was a two-day drive) to Akefia's hometown of Wytheville. Bakura didn't even understand why they had to move.

Bakura walked down the remaining area of the hallway, and went down the stairs, ending up in the living room. The living room was dark and dismal, matching with the rest of the house. Bakura grabbed a match out of the box on the coffee table, and lit the fireplace with it, creating warmth, light, and color in the room. It no longer matched the rest of the house, which made Bakura smirk a little. Bakura walked over to a velvet chair in front of the fireplace, and sat down. Bakura took in a deep breath, and closed his eyes to sleep. He didn't get the chance.

There was a knock on the door. Bakura groaned, stood up, and walked toward it. He opened the white oak door, hearing the squeak of the rusty old hinges as it went to the left. Standing in the doorway was a blonde Egyptian, wearing a lavender tunic with gold chains strung across his chest. His pants were black, appearingly denim. He was holding a golden rod in his right hand, which was part of the same set as the bizzare necklace around Bakura's neck, known as the Millennium Ring. The boy's lavender eyes were staring at the Ring, just like Bakura's eyes were focused on the boy's rod.

"Hello," the boy said kindly, taking his gaze off of the Millennium Ring, and looking Bakura in the face, "I'm Marik Ishtar. Would Akefia happen to be home?"

Bakura nodded. Marik grabbed his hand and shook it. "This would be the part where you tell me your name," Marik said, smirking.

"Oh," Bakura said quickly, trying not to stay in front of Marik too long. "I'm Yami Bakura. Just call me Bakura."

"Bakura," Marik said, saying the word slowly to himself. "That's Akefia's last name. Are you related?"

Bakura sighed. "Yes. He's my...", Bakura couldn't find the word.

"Brother? Uncle? Father?", Marik said, bombarding Bakura with answers to the question.

Bakura gulped. "He's my cousin.", he answered briskly.

Marik moved his mouth in an "o" shape, and walked inside.

"Where is he?", Marik asked.

"Upstairs," Bakura whispered.

Marik went over to the rackety, old staircase, and walked up it. Bakura sat back down in front of the fireplace.

"Bakura! Bakura!"

Ryou came running down the stairs, and Marik was with him.

"What's wrong, Ryou?", Bakura asked, running over to him.

"It's Akefia, he's...", Marik began to speak, but Bakura slapped him in the face.

"I asked Ryou, not you!", he yelled, then turned to his "brother".

"Akefia's... gone.", Ryou answered.

Bakura took in a deep breath, and collapsed.


	2. 2

Bakura coughed, and gasped for air, trying to brush his wet bangs out of his face.

"See, I told you that would work," Ryou said.

"I think we're going to become good friends.", Marik responded.

Bakura stood up, and the water from his soaking wet hair splashed onto Marik's face. Marik crossed his arms, and gave Bakura a glazed look. "Okay, more to the point, Akefia disappeared, somehow. Where could he have gone?", Marik asked.

Ryou broke into tears. "He... he... nev...never left upstairs! He just disappeared!"

Bakura snapped his fingers. "Amane, maybe?"

"Amane?", Marik asked with a raised eyebrow.

"My sister," Ryou answered. "But, she's dead. What do you mean, Bakura?"

"Get thirteen candles, and a piece of chalk. Marik, follow me," Bakura said.

Ryou darted for the kitchen. Marik followed Bakura up the staircase.

 _Something's up_ , Marik thought. _Ryou said Amane was 'his sister'. If Bakura's his brother, shouldn't he have said Amane was 'their sister'? Man, I wish I was smarter._

* * *

Bakura blew on the top of the piece of chalk, and the dust spread out in the opposite direction of the circle Bakura had just drawn on the floor. Marik was slowly walking around the circle, placing twelve of the candles on the edges, and placing the thirteenth in the center.

"What is this supposed to do?", Marik asked, pulling an apple out of his pocket and taking a bite out of it.

"Normally," Bakura began, "this would be used to exorcise a demon or phantom, but if I say the spell backwards, I can bring a ghost back."

Ryou gasped, and ran to Bakura. "No! You can't bring back Amane's ghost!"

Bakura put his hand inside Ryou's. "Don't worry. She'll go back, I promise you."

Ryou leaned into Bakura for comfort, but slowly walked back to Marik as Bakura got on his knees to do the ritual. Marik sat on the ground, still eating his apple, and Ryou followed with sitting behind him, propping his head up against Marik's back. They listened (Marik was also watching) to the ritual words, backwards. Upon hearing it, Marik noticed that the numerous words were actually the names of Egyptian gods. He listened even closer.

"Amun, Osiris, Ra, Nebet-Hut, Set, Isis, Anubis...!"

Marik spelled it backwards in his head. Sibuna Sisi Tes Tuh-Teben Ar Siriso Numa. It sounded like a foreign language to Marik, and that was just what he heard. Bakura finished with a cry of:

"Haroeris, Nephthys!" Syhthpen Sireorah, Marik spelled.

He fell to his knees, and Marik and Ryou pulled him over towards them. They watched as the flames on the twelve outside candles extended into beams of light, and hit the flame of the thirteenth candle in the center. The thirteenth flame flashed to the ceiling, illuminating it. Suddenly, the light lowered, and shaped itself into Amane.

Her colors were duller than they were when she was alive, because she was a ghost now, and everyone knows that ghosts are pale. Her bright pink shirt was now a pale pink that no one could struggle to look at. Her skirt, which used to be dark blue, was now a navy blue, which has always been so dark, people confused it for black. Her black platform sandals hadn't changed a bit, because they were black. Her pale skin had turned from actually looking like skin to looking like snow. Her hair, which was originally silvery- white, was now too pale a color for any of the boys in the room (or the author, for that matter) to describe. She had a blue aura going around her light-like form, which made the three boys stare with gaping mouths, unable to look away.

"Hello," she said. "I am the Ghost of Amane Bakura. Who has summoned me, and why?"

Bakura bowed. "Your ghostliness, I am Yami Bakura, your summoner. I have summoned you in order to receive information on the location of Akefia Bakura. He has mysteriously disappeared.", he said, as if making an announcement to the whole population of Minnesota.

Amane looked to the ceiling for a few seconds, then spoke. "Your friend... he is in a place beyond compare, a place beyond imagination. It is not Heaven, and it is not Hell. It is in between. It is... the Shadow Realm."

All three boys gasped. Amane looked straight at Bakura. "I have done as you have summoned me for, Master."

"Oh, yes. I give you permission to return from whence you came," Bakura said, smirking.

"No," she said. "We don't 'return from whence we came'. We feed on human souls!"

Amane's beautiful, ghostly form slowly changed. She turned from light-like to pure darkness. When she opened her mouth, her teeth were sharper than her nails, which were extending, becoming as sharp as knifes. She was crowded by a blood-red aura instead of her original blue, and her body was reduced to an appearance as if a jelly substance that had expired over 10 years ago, and had, additionally been burned to a crisp.

The boys all screamed, and ran in separate directions. Ryou jumped inside a bench in the window, which had a seat you could lift up to store things in. Ryou was able to jump in easily with plenty of space remaining because of his small size. He got there without "Amane" noticing, as she was focused on chasing Bakura.

"Must... have... a Yami's soul!", she shouted, chasing him. He ran into the kitchen, and down into the pantry. "Amane" didn't follow him into the downstairs pantry. She saw Marik running past the kitchen, unintentionally getting her attention.

"I... want... the EGYPTIAN!", she screamed, chasing after Marik faster than she had chased Bakura, or how she would've chased Ryou.

Marik ran into a corner without realizing it. He screamed, falling down onto his rear. "Amane" sunk her sharper-than-knifes teeth into Marik's right leg, and he screamed louder than he had screamed before.

"HELP! RYOU! BAKURA!", he wailed, feeling his Life Force being sucked from his body as "Amane" robbed him of his soul.

He felt as if he was about to pass without a soul, when he heard it.

"Sibuna sisi tes tuh-teben ar siriso numa syhthpen sireorah!"

"Amane" screamed. Her voice, deep and gravelly, now created a scream that would've turned you pale, and would've scarred you for life. Marik watched as she formed into a beam of black light, and was pulled in by an unknown force to the thirteenth candle. The flame turned black, and it slowly spread to the bottom of the candle. The same thing happened, simultaneously, to the other twelve candles arranged around the circle. All thirteen candles melted into burning hot black wax, covering the circle of chalk Bakura had made.

"Never again," Marik whispered. "Never again."

Bakura looked down at Marik's leg. There were three-inch long teeth marks going around his thigh, covering that thigh down with bright red blood.

Ryou screamed; not out of fear, but out of frustration. "BAKURA, I TOLD YOU SHE WOULDN'T GO BACK! YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE ME! LOOK WHAT HAPPENED! WE NEARLY DIED, AND MARIK NEARLY GOT HIS LEG BITTEN OFF! NOW, HE MIGHT HAVE TO GET IT AMPUTATED, SEWED TOGETHER, AND, MOST LIKELY, HAVE BLOOD REPLACED! YOU'RE THE ONE MAKING BLOOD DONATIONS, BAKURA! YOU ARE!"

"Guys!", Marik shouted.

Ryou and Bakura followed Marik's eyes. The round patch of black wax had sunk into the floor, and was replaced with a purple-black hole. There was a large hand-shadow coming out of it, and it was reaching for Marik's hand.

"Don't take it, Marik!", Ryou screamed.

Marik looked. The shadow slowly formed itself into a familiar figure. A figure with tan skin, white hair, and a velvet red robe covering his arms.

"Akefia," Marik whispered.

"Marik...", the shadow Akefia whispered, his voice echoing behind him, "come with me... You will be free from all your troubles... Follow me, Marik..."

Marik slowly reached his hand out, and grabbed shadow Akefia's. The figure vanished to reveal a dark shadow, making Marik scream. Before he could stop screaming, the shadow swallowed him. The shadow became flat again, and dragged itself back into the hole in the floor. Marik was gone, and hole closed itself up, turning back into the black wax. The wax slowly disappeared, revealing the original oak Planck's beneath it.

Ryou screamed again. "That thing just pretended to be Akefia, and it took Marik to the..."

"Shadow Realm...", Bakura finished, drifting away on the last word as his eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell to the ground.


	3. 3

Bakura opened his eyes. He was alone, in a hospital room. The room was dark, and the walls and floor were made out of a shiny black material. The sheets and pillowcase on the bed he was laying in were dark purple. He went to scrath his head out of confusion, but found the top of his head wrapped in bandages. He put his feet on the floor in an attempt to stand.

"Ap, ap, ap!", a girl shouted from behind him.

Bakura looked, seeing pale hands with black sleeves lift his legs back onto the bed, and put the blankets over his body.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't worry," the girl responded, "you just need to recover, is all."

Bakura sighed, and looked up at the girl's face. He screamed. "Dark Warrior of Magic Girl!"

the Dark Warrior of Magic Girl nodded. "Yes. Have you met my brothers and sister yet?", she asked.

Bakura took in a deep breath. This must've been some costumed masquerade of some sort. It was one, even if it was a freaky one. He shook his head "no", and the Dark Warrior of Magic Girl left down the hall. Bakura took in a deep breath, and laid down on the bed he was laying in.

As suddenly as she had appeared the first time, the Dark Warrior of Magic Girl came back with another collection of people dressed like her. She had come back with the Dark Magician Girl, the Dark Magician, the Magician of Black Chaos, and the Magician Girl of Black Chaos. Bakura chuckled.

 _They all take everything to a really stupid level on Tuesdays,_ Bakura thought, chuckling to himself again.

"My brothers," the Dark Warrior of Magic Girl said, pointing to the Dark Magician and the Magician of Black Chaos, "and my sister," she pointed to the Dark Magician Girl. "She's my cousin," she said, pointing to the Magician Girl of Black Chaos.

Bakura just smiled. All the magicians smiled, just the same. "Why don't you stay with him, figure out a few things?", the Dark Warrior of Magic Girl asked the Dark Magician Girl.

"Got it," she said, giving her sister a thumbs up as she and the other magicians left the room.

The Dark Magician Girl sat in a chair next to Bakura. He gave the girl a glare that said he meant business, but she didn't move a muscle or flinch. She just stayed in that same position she was sitting in: with her elbows on her lap, using her hands to hold her head.

"So," she said, taking a pencil out of the skirt of her dress, "what's your name?", she leaned over and grabbed the clipboard on the foot of the bed.

"Bakura Yami," he said, formally saying his name last name first.

"Okay," the Magician Girl said, scribbling his name on the paper. "any relatives that we can contact?"

"My 'brother', Bakura Ryou, and my 'cousin', Bakura Akefia. Akefia's gone missing, though, so it'll be a miracle if you can contact him."

"Phone numbers and address?", the Magician Girl asked, writing their names on the sheet of paper at the same time.

"It's the same address," Bakura said, trying to recall it. "1313, Thirteenth Street."

"That's spooky," the Magician Girl said with a smile.

"Yeah, it's so spooky that Akefia's custom phone number is...", the Magician interrupted him.

"Is it a '222' number?", she asked quickly.

"Yeah, both of them are," Bakura said, nodding as the words came out of his mouth. "Akefia's is 222-131-3130. Ryou's is 222-432-9374."

The Magician Girl said nothing, just scribbled the phone numbers down. "Home or mobile?", she asked quickly.

"Both are mobile," Bakura answered.

"Blood type?", the Magician Girl asked, nibbling the eraser of her pencil with a smile.

"A positive," Bakura answered.

"Good to know," the Magician Girl said, her voice lowered to a whisper as she walked away from Bakura.

"What...?", Bakura said, confused. He looked to his right and saw the Magician Girl walking back toward him.

"This won't hurt at all," she said, grabbing Bakura's wrist.

Bakura shrieked upon feeling a sharp pain in his right arm, then passed out.

* * *

Bakura slowly opened his eyes. He was surrounded by doctors and nurses, and it made him nervous.

"What's going on with the patient?", one of the doctors asked.

"Exsanguination," a nurse answered.

"What's the patient's blood type?", another doctor asked.

"Does it matter?", the same nurse asked, speaking in a whisper.

"No, it doesn't," the doctor said, chuckling malevolently. "Nurse, get blood!"

"Right ahead of you, doctor," a nurse said, bringing the doctor a jar of blood.

The doctor gasped. "Patient is conscious! Repeat, patient is conscious!"

"I've got it!", a nurse shouted.

Bakura had a breathing mask placed over his mouth and nose. He smelled something sweet, and drifted back into unconsciousness.

* * *

Bakura woke up. He felt nothing but the IV needle in his arm, in the same spot that the Magician Girl had knocked him out with whatever vaccine she had injected into his system. Bakura, immediately realizing that he had to check the blood type he was transfused with. If it was a blood type that wasn't compatible with his, he would be facing Death's sweet embrace.

He turned to his right. The bag was labeled "O+". Bakura sighed with relief. A+ blood was compatible with O+ blood. Those doctors had made a mistake. They let him live.

"You know, they were highly considering chopping off your head and just pouring the blood in through there," a girl said.

He looked at her. She was human, unlike anyone else in the whole of the hospital he was in. Her long ginger hair went down to her ankles, but she was tying it into a ponytail as she spoke. She was pale. One could mistake her for a ghost, due to the paleness of her skin. Bakura could stand to look at her, but that's because he and Ryou were pale, and he had been looking at pale skin all his life. He looked at her eyes. Ocean blue. He thought of waves when looking into them. Her feet were uncovered, aloowing her to slip and slide across the floor. Her dress was a dull tan, very similar to the sweater that Ryou loved so much, and wore so often. It looked like a robe that the ancient Greek goddesses would've worn.

"My name's Bakura," he said, introducing himself first.

"Teagan," she said quietly.

"How come you're human?", he asked her.

She smiled. "How come you're not?"

Bakura made a face that indicated that he was confused, but he looked down at the floor to avoid giving Teagan a chance to see it. By the time he could look up, however, Teagan was gone.

 _I'll be back..._

Bakura shuddered.


	4. 4

Bakura pulled the IV needle out of his arm. He tore a strip of cloth off of the sleeve of his hospital gown, and tied it around his elbow to avoid having blood drip on the floor behind him. He ran out of the room.

"Teagan! Teagan!", he shouted after the girl, running down an empty hallway.

He didn't know what had come over him. He was somewhat scared of this girl- she knew everything about him; how did she know he wasn't human if they met each other before? Maybe he was feeling the need to ask her that question. Maybe he was going to ask her never to talk to him again. Whatever it was, he was going after Teagan, and nothing was going to make him stop.

He saw a flash of ginger hair go around a corner. He began to run faster, tying his hair up to make it easier to run.

"Teagan! Teagan! Come back! Teagan!", he screamed.

As he came down the hallway where the girl had gone, the girl turned around to look at him. She gasped and smiled upon seeing him.

"I'm not human, you know," she said to him, "I'm a neko." She pulled her hair back to reveal two white, fuzzy cat ears protruding from her head, and she reached into her skirt, pulling out a white furry tail.

Bakura gasped. He remembered:

 _It depicted a young girl hiding behind a wall that leaded into a dark hallway, much like the one Bakura was standing in, and the hallway was crowded with all sorts of paranormal creatures; werewolves, vampires, zombies, ghouls, demons, ghosts, and living mummies. Bakura took a closer look at the girl behind the wall. There was a white, furry tail next to her, but it seemed attached to her behind. There were white, fuzzy, cat-like ears protruding from her head. The girl was a neko._

"You're the girl in the painting!", he screamed.

She nodded. "Yes. It was painted just a few years ago. I was a model for it, but it was sold. It seems you've seen it."

He gulped. "My cousin owns it," he said.

"Oh, Akefia? He's here. They took his blood to replace yours and your friend's.", she said, stroking her tail.

"I didn't need a transfusion," Bakura said, gripping his hands into fists. "Marik needed it!"

She smirked. "Oh, Marik. Yes, he's here, too. Stubborn little thing; refused to come with us. I can't believe we had to use Akefia's mental imprint to create an image of him to tempt your friend into coming. I can't believe he touched the shadows. I have never seen anyone who would do that without force. It makes me wonder if he knew.

"I think he's ugly and stupid. You're handsome and genius. I like you."

Bakura gulped. "Listen. Let me talk to you for just a second, then I can do whatever you're asking for."

Teagan giggled. "Speak; I'll answer anything."

Bakura smiled. "Okay. There was an ancient Egyptian teenager named Thief King Akefia Bakura, and a..."

"Duel Monster named Zorc," Teagan continued, cutting off Bakura. "When both of them died, they each combined a half of their soul and Life Force to create a spirit known as Yami Bakura. However, the powerful Pharaoh Atem banished both his soul and Yami Bakura to their Millennium Items. Pharaoh Atem was banished to his Millennium Pendant, which broke into pieces during the conflict, later becoming known as the Millennium Puzzle. Yami Bakura was trapped inside his Millennium Ring that he had stolen from the great sorcerer Mahad.

"For 5,000 years, Yami Bakura was not released from the Ring. That was, until a man named Kaito Bakura, a descendant of Akefia Bakura, bought it from a market in Cairo, the capitol city of Egypt, and sent it to his son, Ryou, who was in Japan. Ryou wore it all the time, as it was precious to him. But, just days after his father returned home, Yami Bakura began to control Ryou. Yami Bakura was an amazing actor, and was able to pass himself off as Ryou very easily. Nobody knew who he really was, except the spirit of the Pharaoh, who was trapped inside a solved Millennium Puzzle around the neck of Ryou's friend, Yugi.

"Yami Bakura would team up with many villains before deciding to go solo for a long while. He was able to summon Zorc without the Pharaoh's secret name: an extraordinary feat at the time. However, Horakty, the Creator of Light was summoned using the Pharaoh's secret name, defeating Zorc, and destroying Yami Bakura. Yami Bakura would soon come back in his own body, still half-Duel Monster, half-ghost. He would call himself 'the brother of Bakura'. However, the original Bakura called himself Ryou, and Yami Bakura went by simply Bakura. Akefia remained Akefia, and was called 'the cousin of the Bakuras'.

"Soon enough, Ryou and Bakura would moe into the same house, in order for Bakura to keep Ryou safe. Akefia lived several states away, living in West Virginia while Ryou and Bakura were in Nevada. However, not long ago, Bakura and Ryou were visited by Akefia, who picked them up and brought them to West Virginia to live there. Neither boy knew anything about what was going on, but they never got a chance to ask. They had to hurriedly pack their bags and hop into the car with their 'cousin' until further notice. They were going to stay for a month, then they would get a house for just the two of them in Nevada.

"On their first day in Akefia's house, they met a good friend of Akefia's, named Marik Ishtar. That same day, Akefia disappeared by unknown means. In an attempt to figure out Akefia's location, Bakura, Ryou, and Marik performed a ritual to summon the ghost of Amane Bakura, Ryou's little sister. She told him that he was in the Shadow Realm. Then, instead of returning to wherever she came from, she turned into a demon, attempting to feed on the souls of the three boys. Bakura performed the banishment spell, sending Amane back to Heaven as the ghost she came to him as.

"However, it was too late for Marik. Amane had bitten his leg, trying to steal his soul from him. That's when the pool of black wax, caused by the melting of the candles used in the ritual performed to summon Amane's ghost, formed itself into a portal to the Shadow Realm. The shadow came out of the portal in the shape of a hand, reaching for Marik. When that didn't work, Akefia, who was already in the Shadow Realm, was scanned in order for the shadow to create a perfect mirror image of it. It was so tempting to Marik that he grabbed Akefia's hand. The shadow swallowed him, and took him to the Shadow Realm.

"Bakura fainted out of realization and fear, not long after. He was taken to the Shadow Realm, as well. Ryou was left, and will never be taken down there, ever. Bakura had a medical procedure done on him, and now... he's standing right in front of me."

Bakura collapsed, right where he stood.

* * *

 _Your eyes are hurting, and it's no fun..._

She knew everything. How could she have known everything?

 _No war in anger, was ever won..._

Was she a spy? A stalker? A psychic?

 _Put out the fire, before igniting..._

He had to know. He wanted to know. He had to know.

 _Don't doubt the words you fight with..._

And he was going to find out, whether Teagan liked it or not.

* * *

Bakura sat up, and immediately stood. He was going to find Teagan, but he wasn't going to announce himself. He was going to be stealthy. He had a mission to complete.

And no one, under any circumstances, was going to stop him today.


	5. 5

As he ran out of the room, Teagan was in the entranceway to it. She hadn't change from yesterday. She still was wearing the same robe. She still had luxuriously long ginger hair. She was still the same neko as the one in Akefia's painting.

"You can't hide from me," she said quietly. "Neko have abilities. We can read minds, of both other neko **and** humans. Neko, they are psychics. We see all, and know all. We deserve our spot on the back of the dollar bill."

Bakura coughed lightly. "I never knew that Neko had any abilities besides the ones cats have, and the sixth sense.", Bakura said.

She walked a few steps closer to him, and started running her fingers through his hair. "Well, we happen to be psychics, too. You learned something new today."

He grabbed her hand, holding it. He ran his thumb over the top. He couldn't help what he was doing; her skin was as soft as silk, maybe it was softer. He lifted it to his hand, and kissed it. "We'll keep in touch, right? We're friends, right?", Teagan asked.

Bakura was too busy running through his own thoughts. He just nodded absentmindedly. "Well, I was thinking...", she put a finger to his lips.

"Say no more, my dear, sweet Bakura."

* * *

 **At the same time...**

Foot, then crutch. Foot, then crutch. Foot, then crutch. It was a constantly repeating pattern. Everyone who happened to be in that hallway, although it was very few people, saw him try to walk. It was a poor attempt, he knew. He should've given up from the start. He was just trying to find someone. Hopefully, he could find them before he fell over trying to use this crutch, which was still kind of difficult for him. He sighed, took in a deep breath, and kept walking.

There was the sound of footsteps, but also the sound of wheels rolling across the floor, and a plastic bag filled with a large amount of a bright red liquid hitting a metal pole. He didn't like walking with a needle in his arm, but he had to find them. They were their only chance of getting out of there. He screamed out of pain, and fell to his knees. The man with the crutch turned to him.

"Are you alright?", he asked, helping the man with the needle to his feet.

"The needle," he wheezed, bending over, "stabbed... other side of... arm..."

The man with the crutch carefully grabbed his arm, poking the other side where the needle would've been. The man with the needle screamed.

"It's stuck," the man with the crutch said. "We need to get the attention of your doctor; any doctor, for that matter."

"No, we don't.", the man with the needle said, straightening his spine. "We need to find them."

"We don't even know if they're both here," the man with the crutch pointed out.

"I know, for a fact, at least one of them are here."

"How do you know?"

"There was this girl, Teagan. She brought me my medicine one morning; said she had met another person with hair like mine, except he had notably paler skin."

"That's either Bakura or Ryou. Which one of them do you think it is?"

"It might be both, Marik; keep that in mind."

He groaned. "I know. I can't tell you how many times I've confused the two of them before you gave me the pictures to keep it straight. I have them in my back pocket, actually."

"Well, there you go. We'll find them, I promise you."

"Are you sure, Akefia? I mean, we've practically been all over this hospital, and they're nowhere."

He stomped his foot. "We. Will. Find them."

Marik took in a deep breath, and kept walking. As he moved his crutch forward, it bent forward, and he fell right onto his face. "We're just not cut out for this, Akefia. You know what? We should've just asked the doctors where he is."

"Funny story to match that statement. I tried; they said they don't keep track of who's where if they don't take care of them. We're in a different sector, so our doctors won't be able to find them."

Akefia reached his hand our to Marik, who took it, and stood.

"Stupid demon-ghost thing. She had to try and bite off my leg," Marik complained.

"She was trying to steal your soul, crazy dork," Akefia replied with a smile.

They kept walking forward, with Akefia to Marik's right. They kept looking down the hallways they were next to as they passed by them, hopeful that they would find Bakura or Ryou. Step by step, they kept going, helping each other when they fell down.

"Oh, Marik, I just hope we find Bakura," Akefia said. "I love him, you know."

Marik scoffed. "I thought you liked me," he said. "Do we need to seperate and search for clues?", he said, both sarcastically and honestly.

"Oh, come on, Marik. _I want your loving, and I want your revenge..._ "

" _You and me could write a bad romance._ "

Akefia kissed Marik's forehead, and the two continued on. "I'm allowed to be polygamous, and, honestly, so are you."

Marik sighed. "He's pretty cute," he admitted coyly.

Akefia smirked, looking at Marik, then turned his head back to the right to look for Bakura and Ryou. As he was looking down a hallway he was passing by, he heard Marik gasp loudly.

"Akefia, you might want to see this," Marik said. Akefia turned to look.

In the middle of a hallway on Marik's side, Bakura was kissing a girl right in the middle of it. No one else was there except the two of them. The girl immediately caught Akefia's attention. Extremely long ginger hair, no shoes, extremely pale, white cat ears and a matching tail, along with a robe that resembled the robe of a Greek goddess. She was in a painting he owned. He had seen her before.

It was Teagan.


	6. 6

Akefia balled his hands into fists. He watched Teagan kiss Bakura for several minutes, getting more and more angry with each passing second. His fists tightened, his teeth began to grind, and he started to pull his own hair. He leaned in closer to Marik.

"Can I punch the girl?", he asked him, speaking through his teeth.

Marik shook his head, and Akefia groaned. He started growling with his mouth open, but his teeth were closed, showing that all his teeth were insanely sharp.

"Akefia, please," Marik said. "It's not so bad. We'll just..."

He looked down at Akefia's feet. There were little drops of water on the ground surrounding them, and more falling. He looked at Akefia's face. He was crying out of sorrow, but he was also furious. Marik put an arm around Akefia, and leaned into him. Akefia began to hug Marik, and cried onto his shoulder. Marik pat his back carefully.

Akefia took in a deep breath. "Thanks, Marik. I owe you one."

"Yeah, you do," Marik joked. "Anyway, we need to interfere. Let's use whatever plan you have stuck up in that brain of yours."

"I don't like that idea," Akefia protested.

"Why?"

"Because," Akefia gulped, "my plan is a really shitty plan."

"I like really shitty plans," Marik said.

Akefia sighed. "Well, Operation: Really Shitty Plan, is go!"

* * *

Akefia pushed himself against the wall, being careful not to make any sound that would grab Bakura's attention, or Teagan's, for that matter. He got up behind Teagan, keeping his hands behind his back so he wouldn't disturb her. He stuck out his hands to push her away, but hesitated. He looked to see Marik behind him with a baseball bat, ready to knock Teagan out when Akefia pushed her away.

"What're you doing, Akefia? Just shove her!", Marik whisper-shouted.

Akefia gulped, and pushed Teagan away from Bakura, replacing Teagan with himself. He had never felt so warm and happy in his life, just standing right there, being kissed by Bakura. Akefia watched Marik with his right eye open, seeing him hit her on the head with the baseball bat. Marik made a gesture telling Akefia to move. Akefia sighed inside, but didn't actually do it.

He grabbed Bakura's wrist, and pulled away from him. "Come on!", he shouted, following Marik down the hallway.

Bakura screamed. "What's going on?! Where's Teagan?!"

"No time to explain! Just follow us!", Marik shouted.

"No!", Bakura said, and pulled his wrist out of Akefia's grip.

"Come on, Bakura! You need to follow us!", Akefia yelled, reaching for Bakura's hand.

"What's going on?", Bakura asked calmly. "Maybe if you had a good reason for interrupting my moment with Teagan, I could come with you. So, tell me what's going on. If you have a good reason, I'll come with you guys."

Marik sighed. "Looks like I'm going to tell this crazy story. Okay.

"Well, Bakura, I'm warning you right now, this story goes way back. When we first met, Akefia told me of a curse that had been plaguing his family for years. When they were at least eighteen, each member of the Bakura family would be taken into the Shadow Realm, never to be seen again. Akefia's about nineteen, maybe twenty. According to him, you're about eighteen, yourself. Ryou's only about thirteen, maybe fourteen, so he won't be coming down here for the next four or five years.

"Anyway, he told about how any friends of the Bakura family would be taken, as well as the family themselves. Of course, they're not only taken to the Shadow Realm, but the Hospital of the Shadow Realm. They do torturous things to us until they think our soul can linger out with the others that have been left there. They amputate limbs that are perfectly functional, give you the wrong blood in unnecessary blood transfusions, give you chemotherapy for no good reason, break your arms and legs just so they can put you in a cast, do unnecessary surgery on your vital organs, and so much more torture.

"The men get the worst of it, though. I remember what they did to me while I was here during Battle City. They did some weird things, but things couldn't have been weirder when it came to what they did last. Let's started from the beginning. They cut off my top lip just to stitch it back on. They took almost 60% of my blood, and replaced it with the wrong kind. Thank Ra, it was a kind that was still compatible with my blood type, or I would've died horribly. The worst part was that they cut off my foot, poured the blood in through there, stitched my foot back on, and hoped for the best. Then, they did a random stomach surgery on me, nearly killing me. Then, they did the most awful thing in the history of awful. But, I'm not gonna talk about it. I don't wanna."

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Akefia reassured him, holding Marik's right hand in his left.

"What? What happened?", Bakura asked.

"Bakura, can't you see he's been through enough already?", Akefia shouted.

"No, Akefia. He deserves the right to know," Marik said. He walked over to Bakura, and whispered something in his ear. Bakura's eyes widened, and he fell to his knees.

"I know," Marik said, and sighed, "it's just not right."

"What is it?", Akefia asked out of curiosity.

Marik and Bakura both shook their heads vigorously. It was clear that whatever the secret was, it was too horrible for Akefia to hear. Akefia crossed his arms as Bakura kissed Marik's forehead and hugged him tightly. It was clear that Marik was in need of affection at that moment.

Marik sighed. "Okay, enough of the polygamy for now," he joked. "We can all kiss later. Now, we need to get out of here. If we do, we can break the Bakura's curse."

"Teagan," Bakura muttered.

"We know," Akefia said, hugging Bakura. "In the meantime, we just need to..."

He paused. He heard a noise. Marik and Bakura raised their heads. They heard it, too.

"Guys, listen. Identify that sound, would you?", Marik asked, taking a few steps forward into the hallway.

They all listened for a few minutes, trying to identify the noise, it's source, and the direction it was coming from. Marik took a few more steps into the hallway, and went down it a little.

The noise got slightly louder.

"Dad..."

Marik's eyebrow raised. He took a few more steps down the hallway.

"Dad!"

He began to run. He knew the call was for him, not just anybody. He didn't know why, he just knew.

"DAD!"

Marik turned the corner, seeing a a mirror image of himself, with a black long-sleeve shirt underneath the crop-top that Marik wore. Otherwise, the two Mariks looked identical.

"Dad," the other Marik whispered to the real one.

"Amyr."


	7. 7

( **A/N** : Amyr's name is pronounced (aim-ear-on), if you wanted to know. Of course, if any of you find that a bit too complicated or maybe just a little strange, you could pronounce his name (aim-year) like I've been doing for years.)

* * *

"The noise stopped. Are you as concerned as I am?", Bakura asked.

"Yeah. Marik didn't come back. If he doesn't come back, he's either: One, trapped in a closet; Two, trapped in the bathroom, or Three, trapped in the operating room.", Akefia said.

Bakura crossed his arms and lowered his gaze. "I think there's more to it than him getting trapped in a closet, a bathroom, or the operating room. I think... he's trapped in the belly of a whale!"

"Have you been reading the Bible again?", Akefia asked warily.

"Shut up," Bakura said hastily, running down the hallway Marik had gone down. Akefia followed him.

* * *

They found Marik hugging what appeared to be a mirror image of himself, although there was a single, select, subtle difference between the two. The new Marik was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt underneath the crop-top that he, along with the original Marik, was wearing. Akefia and Bakura kept swapping between looking at the scene and each other out of confusion.

"Marik...?", Bakura said, concerned, breaking the silence.

Marik looked back at his friends, and smiled. He stood up, and his doppelganger did the same. He put an arm around the other Marik, and the two were both hugging tightly.

"Sorry, I was busy meeting up with an..." both Mariks giggled. "old friend."

Akefia and Bakura both raised an eyebrow. "Who is he?", Akefia asked, "A brother? Cousin? Your nephew on the maternal or paternal side?"

"No, no, and no. This is Amyr. He's..." the both of them giggled again, "my son."

Akefia and Bakura both fell over, but quickly stood themselves back up.

"You have a son?! Why didn't you ever tell us?!", Bakura fumed.

"I forgot all about him," Marik said calmly, and turned to hug Amyr. "I'm sorry. When we find a way out of here, I'm bringing with you with me. I'm never going to lose you ever again."

"You mean, 'if you find a way out of here'. The Curse of the Bakura Family has you, Mr. Bakura and Mr. Touzouko trapped here. If you manage to find a way out of here, that's a miracle. Just telling you," Amyr said.

"Curse of the Bakura Family?", Akefia repeated, confused.

"Long ago, during the 19th century," Amyr started, "there was a member of the Bakura family named Emily Bakura. After giving birth to twins at the age of 16 while unmarried, Emily was taken directly to the Shadow Realm. Her son, Sean Bakura, stayed in England and had six children with his wife. However, Emily's daughter, September, was taken to the Shadow Realm, and died there. Sean's four daughters, Ruby, Krystle, Pearl, and Amythest, were taken from England to the Shadow Realm, while his two sons stayed behind, got married, and had children.

"The Bakura family has been cursed with having at least one daughter and one son each generation. The daughter or daughters is always taken to the Shadow Realm, while the son or sons stay in whatever country they're in at that point and have more children to get captured and taken or stay behind and have more children in order for the cycle to repeat. The only reason this didn't happen with the current generation of the Bakura family is because of a tragic accident that happened quite a few years ago. The daughter of the Bakura family, Amane Bakura, died in a car crash with her mother. The son of the Bakura family, Ryou Bakura, was the child that remained.

"Because there were no more daughters, Ryou was going to end up going to the Shadow Realm himself. It looks like it decided to take Bakura and Akefia instead. Looks like Ryou is the survivor, and the only remaining member of the Bakura family, Shadow Realm or not. But, the Curse of the Bakura Family is also prone to take the friends, too. It only happened once before, in the case of the daughter of one of Sean Bakura's sons. Her boyfriend was dragged into the Shadow Realm with her. So, friends will be stolen, just the same, if they happen to be in the near vicinity when the portal opens up. But, there you go. And no Bakura has ever been released from the Shadow Realm, and I heavily doubt it's going to start today."

Marik, Akefia, and Bakura all stared at Amyr, somewhat amazed, as Amyr began to fall to his knees, coughing. He was coughing for a good thirty to fourty seconds when he took his father's hand and stood up.

"Sorry about that," Amyr apologized, "I have a zygotic disease. The zygotes running through my bloodstream are going through the surface of my lungs, causing unfection as they run over it. Also, in case none of you guys knew, a zygotic disease is a contagious virus, such as HIV and AIDS, cholera, typhoid disease, scarlet fever, and many more; those are just some of the basics. Anyway, if the carbon dioxide escaping my mouth comes in contact with your face, or any area of your body that is prone to come in contact with your face, you'll catch this disease, too. I'd suggest you stay a good distance from me, and maybe I'll wear a surgical mask to make life easier for all of us."

Akefia and Bakura looked at Amyr with gaping mouths. "Okay, Marik, what's the big idea?! That kid's way too smart to be your son!", Bakura screamed.

"Oh, but on the contrary, Mr. Bakura," Amyr said, tying his hair up as he spoke, "I was born and raised in this hospital with the doctors and nurses, who all have a vast knowledge that I have gained. I have the knowledge that I need, and more."

"See? He is my son; he's just been raised around different people," Marik said proudly.

"Yeah, right. I bet you've brainwashed him or someth...", Akefia paused.

They all heard it, just the same. A familiar sound that they didn't want to hear, for some reason. They didn't know why; they all made that noise, and it was perfectly normal, but the sound made them nervous now. Remember, they did not know why... they were just afraid.

They heard footsteps.


	8. Intermission

"The Dark Lord calls us," Emily whispered.

"Does he really?", Kalista asked.

September nodded. Kalista, Emily, September, her three sisters, and every other family member all walked towards the throne. They bowed. "You summoned us, Dark Lord?", Emily asked.

"Yes," it said in a slithery voice. "Do you have the whereabouts of your great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson?"

Emily stood. "My grandson is not here," she said. "However, my grandson's Yami and his progenitor are here, along with their friend, Marik Ishtar."

"Use the child," the Dark Lord said.

"Aymr?", Georgia asked. "But... he is a worthless clone! He is useless...!"

Georgia felt two hands clasp themselves around her neck tightly. She couldn't breathe. She attempted to take one final breath in, but collapsed on the floor, dead.

"Let that be a lesson to you all," the Dark Lord warned, standing. "Now, Rissa, go find the clone, and bring him here."

Rissa nodded. "Yes, Master Malik."

He nodded, as well, as Rissa ran off. "Emily, dispose of the body. The rest of you, back to your cells."

Everyone walked through the open gates of their prison cells. Emily threw Georgia's lifeless body out of the window and walked into her cell. All of the gates closed as Malik turned around, not looking at his prisoners.

"Just you wait, Bakura. You'll be mine, and mine to keep. You'll mean more to me than these girls. I need you... Bakura-kun.", he said, gripping a picture of Bakura in his hands.

The glass on the front shattered. He sighed, letting his tears fall on the ground.


End file.
